NHL 2011-2012: 10 Questions That Will Decide the Fate of the Vancouver Canucks

The Vancouver Canucks are entering the 2011-2012 NHL season coming off, perhaps, the greatest season in their franchise's 40-year history. They will attempt to win one more game this year than they did last year and raise the Stanley Cup they and their fans so desperately want.

With a roster that returns all the key pieces from last year, they are among the contenders again.

Will they be able to make another run?

Have they learned from last year's mistakes?

There are several questions that have to be answered in order to determine what fate lies ahead for the Canucks.

Here are 10 of those questions. Ten questions that will determine where they end up when the dust clears in the spring.

1. Who Will Play on Ryan Kesler's Line?

The lack of scoring alongside Ryan Kesler became painfully apparent during the Stanley Cup Finals. Kesler, nursing an injured hip, often seemed to be on an island all by himself.

Finding a scoring winger seemed to be a top priority for the Canucks this offseason. With only a couple of weeks before training camp begins, they still don’t have that player.

So who will play next to Ryan Kesler this season?

Mikael Samuelsson returns from injury and could reclaim his spot on the second line. Samuelsson had a career year two seasons ago playing with Kesler but regressed last season and fought through some injuries in the playoffs.

If healthy, he should play there again, but who will man the other wing?

Mayson Raymond has taken that spot for most of the past two seasons. He also regressed last season, was nearly invisible during the playoffs and will not be ready to go when the season starts due to the serious neck injury he suffered in the finals.

Even if healthy, Raymond may not be the best choice.

The other options? The Canucks brought in Marco Sturm hoping that he is healthy, and if he is, he might step in to the second line. Chris Higgins showed some moments last season playing alongside Kesler.

Jannik Hansen could be a dark horse to play on the second line again. Hansen is a speedy player who struggles at times with his hands but has the potential to be a contributor.

Whoever ends up on Kesler’s line will need to provide some scoring punch or else the Canucks might end up on the short end of things once again this spring.

2. Will the Defense Stay Healthy?

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Last offseason, the Canucks made a concerted effort to shore up their defensive corps. They brought in Dan Hamhuis and made a draft day trade to bring in Keith Ballard.

Those players gave Vancouver one of the deepest blue lines on paper heading into the season. As the season wore on, several players broke down, and the Canucks had to dig deep into their system to be able to ice a full lineup.

Injuries again hit their defense in the playoffs, and they suffered.

This season, the Canucks let Christian Erhoff move on, and despite that, should still have a strong defense. They re-signed Kevin Bieksa and Sami Salo and hope to have a healthy Alex Edler.

Last year’s dog house resident Keith Ballard is still on the roster and looks to get more ice time this season. Along with him is youngster Chris Tanev who has looked impressive, albeit in a small sample size.

Last season proved that they did not have the depth they thought they did, when it was needed the most.

3. What Will Happen with Cory Schneider?

Cory Schneider was everything he was promised to be last year. In his first regular stint as a back up in the NHL he posted a 16-4-2 record with a goals against of 2.23 and a .929 save percentage.

Cory Schneider is the real deal.

So what will the Canucks do with him? Roberto Luongo is the starter and is under contract for what feels like forever which makes him nearly untradeable.

Will Schneider get more starts this year? Will he get traded? Will his play create a goalie controversy? Has it already?

Having two solid goaltenders is a great problem for the Canucks to have, but it could turn into a problem. There are already people in the stands and press who feel Schneider is the better option in net now.

What happens after a bad Luongo outing?

How long before that controversy spreads to the locker room? Perhaps, it won’t, but it is something to watch.

It doesn’t appear that the Canucks will move Schneider this season as he becomes a restricted free agent after this season, and they will have options then. However, if the Canucks are struggling near the trade deadline, he could be a valuable asset used to help the club.

The Schneider question will be an interesting one to watch and could play a big role in the team’s success.

6. Will Ryan Kesler Be Healthy?

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Ryan Kesler is the heart and soul of the Canucks. Nobody on their roster plays harder or wants to win more.

He suffered a hip injury during the playoffs last year and is still rehabbing from offseason surgery. Last week during the NHL Player’s Media Tour, he told ESPN’s Pierre LeBrun that isn’t ready to go yet.

LeBrun asked him about his hip, and he said "It's getting better, I've skated about five times, it's feeling good, close to 100 percent but not there yet. My goal is to start the season. We'll see if that happens or not."

Kesler is a key player in the Canucks puzzle, and if he misses significant time or is hampered by his hip all season, it could spell doom. This should be a concern for the Canucks.

As bad as the Canucks need to find him a winger, they need a healthy Ryan Kesler even more.

7. Can the Canucks Play Tough?

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A lot was made about the Boston Bruins pushing the Canucks around during the seven games of the finals. The Canucks, and the referees, allowed the Bruins to have their way with them without any resistance.

The last four playoff losses for Vancouver have all been similar. They have lost to teams that pushed them around.

Vancouver needs to get tougher if they want to win the cup.

That will be made harder as their two toughest guys from last year, Tanner Glass and Raffi Torres, have moved on. Who will stand up for the Sedins? Who will stand up for the Canucks?

They brought in guys like Mike Duco, Mark Mancari and Todd Fedoruk in a desperate search for some toughness. Will those guys make a difference?

It doesn’t seem likely, but what is likely is that the Canucks will be tested physically next year as the whole world saw what happened in the finals.

9. Do the Canucks Have Heart?

Do the Canucks have the heart to win? This is an easy thing for fans to question.

We fans have all become arm-chair psychologists over the years. Somehow, we can tell when a team isn’t showing enough heart.

As ridiculous as this seems, it is one of the main questions about the Canucks this season, and there are some good reasons for them.

Last year, the Canucks were up 3-0 against Chicago and let them back in, they were up 3-1 against Nashville and let the Predators force a sixth game and then blew 2-0 and 3-2 leads in the finals against Boston.

Were those events evidence of a lack of heart? Or was it just a team that had yet to find playoff success struggling with being in the lead?

Every Canucks player will tell you that they learned a lot from last year. They said that at the beginning of the 2010 season as well.

They need to cash in on that learning and find the heart, or whatever it is, to win the big games and put teams away.